Leadership and Public Service High School

Leadership and Public Service High School is a small school with a focus on humanities and business located a few blocks from Wall Street in the Financial District. Students may earn college credit by taking courses sponsored by Syracuse University during the school year at Leadership and over the summer at the university.

In the humanities program, students complete a sequence of courses that emphasize law and social justice, such as philosophy, social justice through film and the American experiment.

The business program is bolstered through partnerships with Edelman Financial Services and Zurich Insurance, which provide opportunities to attend workshops and shadow industry professionals where they work. Students participate in the NASDAQ: Business Plan Competition and take business-themed courses on topics such as entrepreneurship.

About 80 students participate in Syracuse University Mentor Mentee Alliance (SUMMA), a program that pairs students with mentors who are Syracuse alumni. Students and their mentors attend events together, perform community service, practice for interviews and work on college admissions.

Select students spend several weeks at Syracuse in the summer after 11th grade taking classes and living in the dorms. Students may also take free courses at CUNY and Touro Colleges.

Incoming freshmen attend a one-week program over the summer to help them acclimate to school before the official start of the school year.

Philip Santos has been principal since 2011. A former social studies teacher and assistant principal at Samuel Gompers, Santos has a good rapport with students, according to staff.

Leadership gets high marks for fostering a positive learning environment, according to the Quality Review Report. The school uses a “restorative justice” approach to discipline, which was featured in a New York Times Magazine article. Students and staff work to minimize suspensions and promote positive behavior through conversation, reflection and corrective action.

To keep tabs on students’ progress and head off problems before they escalate, teachers serve as advisers to a group of students they meet with several times each week. During advisories, students discuss current events, learn about health, engage in restorative justice exercises, and get help preparing for the PSAT and SAT.

After school, students may participate in clubs and sports as well as a range of community service projects, such as volunteering at hospitals, the ASPCA or Visions, a service for the blind and visually impaired. Teachers schedule field trips to museums and other venues.

Despite the positives, challenges persist at Leadership. Its attendance and graduation rates are below the citywide average, and nearly half of the students say there are not enough classes and activities to keep them interested, based on responses to the NYC School Survey. 

Nevertheless, each year, graduates earn scholarships and go on to SUNY and CUNY colleges, with a small group going to private schools, including Syracuse University. Leadership provides graduates who attend Syracuse University with ongoing support during college. A full-time college adviser guides students through the college admissions process and organizes trips to college campuses.

The school does not have a gymnasium; students use a multipurpose room or play sports in Battery Park.

ADMISSIONS: Open to New York City students. Admission is based on the educational option formula that is designed to attract a mix of low-, average- and high-achieving students. (Laura Zingmond, via interview and web reports, March 2018)